CCC to Host Islam Lecture Series

Five visiting scholars will offer a global outlook on the religious and cultural traditions of Islam when Camden County College’s Center for Civic Leadership and Responsibility presents a free public lecture series this semester.

The center is offering the series, which is funded by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers through a grant from the Carnegie Corp. of New York, in partnership with the Penn Museum’s International Classroom program, the Penn Middle East Center and the American Research Institute in Turkey.

Islam: Tradition and Diversity will examine various aspects of the religion and its culture, including the concepts and practices essential to Islam today. Other issues to be explored include the global forces impacting Muslim communities, the assumptions and truths about Muslim women, the diverse cultures and communities of Islam in America, and Islam in Turkey.

Each lecture will be given at 7 p.m. in Civic Hall. This venue is located in the Connector Building on CCC’s Blackwood Campus at College Drive and Peter Cheeseman Road in Gloucester Township.

Scheduled are:

• March 1: “The Essentials of Islam, Past and Present” with Jamal Elias of the University of Pennsylvania.
• March 8: “Islam in Modern Asia: Cosmopolitan, Not Western; Modern, Not Secular” with Haroon Moghul of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. 
• March 22: “Islam and Women: Ten Things Worth Knowing” with Carolyn Baugh of Bryn Mawr College.
• April 5: “Our Andalusia: Islam in the American Mix” with Ann Norton of the University of Pennsylvania.
• April 12: “The Adventure of Political Islam in Turkey: A Nonviolent Takeover?” with Mehmet Darakcioglu of the University of Pennsylvania’s Middle East Studies Center.

This series is recommended for educators as it will provide help in promoting understanding of the Islamic culture for students of any age. New Jersey professional development credit is available.

For more information or to attend, contact the Center for Civic Leadership and Responsibility by telephone at 856-227-7200 ext. 4333 or via e-mail at CCLRregistrations@camdencc.edu.

Editor's note: This article about the Islam lecture series appears in unedited form (aside from formatting adjustments) as provided by Camden County College. If you have press releases pertaining to events happening in or around Gloucester Township, or involving Gloucester Township residents or programs, feel free to forward them to sean.mccullen@patch.com or to self-publish them on GT Patch's Announcements page and/or Events calendar.